SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A fundraiser to raise not only money, but also awareness for child abuse prevention, was held Saturday night in Springfield.

The charity event for the Child Help organization included a raffle and food. Their goal, in part, is to call attention to the tools and resources available to victims. The fundraiser was attended by state lawmakers and child abuse survivors who told 22News they’re working to break the silence.

Eric Schneider, author of The Choir Boy, told 22News, “Get people talking about it, not making it such a taboo subject and dealing with it. The path it took my life down was because my family did not talk about it. They were ashamed.”

Survivors told 22News they’ve already made progress.

In June, a state law was signed that increases the statute of limitation in civil cases, allowing victims to report their abuser up until the age of 53. They say that victims will often take decades to come to grips with what happened to them.